Part III – Mayo Clinic: Improving Strategic Supply with Trusted Data
Guaranteeing Supply for Critical Items During Extraordinary Events (e.g. COVID-19)
No matter what the circumstance – be it regional natural disaster or worldwide pandemic – healthcare providers must be prepared to tackle supply shortages or supply chain delays. Doing so requires that these providers have a keen view and deep insight into inventories and where those products are manufactured. Quite simply, ‘Country of Origin’ data is needed to better predict/estimate/determine potential medical device shortages especially during times of crisis.
A potential scenario…
Country A is a known supplier of PPE equipment providing products to a host of other countries, including Country B. Country A experiences a devastating earthquake which severely hampers its manufacturing supply chain. ‘Country of Origin’ data (via automation, with artificial intelligence and business intelligence) enables a healthcare provider in Country B to quickly change direction without affecting the clinical practice and their need for critical supplies. They are better positioned to shift sourcing to a different suppliers and locations.
Mayo Clinic recently discussed this very same use case in a recent GS1 Healthcare Summit event. The team highlighted the importance of accurate ‘Country of Origin’ data. They detailed how Innovit’s Product Information Management (PIM) product enabled them to set rules and workflows to better identify ‘Country of Origin’ to guarantee supply for critical items during extraordinary events.